


Whole

by TsundereShipper



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, OTP Feels, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Reminiscing, Teenage Dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 15:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17123933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsundereShipper/pseuds/TsundereShipper
Summary: Looking back on it he had always loved her.Written for the 2019 Furuba Secret Santa.





	Whole

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Kanata4544](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Lady_Kanata4544).



> Written for the Fruits Basket Secret Santa on Tumblr for Lady_Kanata4544, hope you enjoy! :)

Looking back on it he had always been watching her. That shy, sweet, happy little girl with gorgeous flowing long hair as black as a raven’s stole his heart every time she asked him to play Jump Rope with him. Or took note of his spiky white hair which paled in comparison to hers. Back then he was too young to figure out what he was feeling, but her compliments and adoring attention stirred something within his heart.  
  
_“Haruu-channn~! Come watch me, come watch me!”_  
  
_“Your hair is funny, is that its natural color?”_  
  
_“Since you’re younger than me by two years I’ll be your big sister! Call me Isuzu-oneechan!”_  
  
_“Suzu… Suzu-nee…?”_  
  
The name was hard for him to say, ever since he learned how to speak he had had difficulty pronouncing things. He had always been a slow child, compared to kids his age he had always been developmentally behind. He learned to walk at almost two years old and only started really talking at four, He was even still wetting the bed and himself by the time he got to primary school! His issue with pronunciation and speaking slowly was just another issue to add on top of everything. The therapists had called it a “speech impediment,” they said it was perfectly normal and happened to kids all the time but he could still recall the look of disappointment upon his parents faces. His father’s frustrated sigh, his mother’s rubbing of her temples and the judgmental laughter that sounded more like sneers directed his way.  
  
_“Of course, why should I have expected anything better from the dumb Ox!”_  
  
_“Why couldn’t you give birth to a more useful Zodiac child, like the Rat?!”_  
  
_“Oh here we go, the blame goes on me! Right, because nothing I do is ever good enough for you is it?! Everything is MY fault!”_  
  
_“I didn’t say that---!”_  
  
Day after day he had to witness the same arguments between his parents, until one day the fighting finally stopped and his father just up and left. That had been the last time he ever saw him. He blamed himself. Day after day he had to listen to the gossipy whispers of the Sohma elders on his family situation. Those eyes looking down on him, pitying him, demeaning him. A constant reminder of just how stupid and worthless he really was.  
  
He hated them.  
  
_“Its your fault you know. If only you had been born the Rat of the Zodiac rather than the Ox… Everyone knows the Ox is the loser of the Zodiac, only the Cat is lower than him! Your poor mother…”_  
  
_“STOP IT!! NO, NO! ITS NOT MY FAULT--- ITS NOT!!”_  
  
It was all the Rat’s fault! That sniveling, conniving Rat which stole his rightful place within the Zodiac and turned him into a laughingstock! If he didn’t exist maybe he wouldn’t have been born stupid, maybe Papa would still be around and Mama wouldn’t blatantly outright ignore him! Maybe the elders wouldn’t constantly laugh and point fingers at him, maybe, maybe---  
  
Maybe he wouldn’t have to blame himself.  
  
That was another thing that attracted him to her. She came from a warm, loving home. It was well known that among the cursed hers was the happiest home, with only the baby Sheep’s, Hiro’s family, giving hers a run for their money. She was like a little angel in white called down from the heavens to save him. Her cheerful, accepting attitude, her perfect home life and the atmosphere that practically radiated happiness whenever she was with her parents, he envied her even more than the Rat.  
  
Perhaps that’s why he had always been drawn to her.  
  
Perhaps… Perhaps he was drawn to her because she wasn’t broken like himself.  
  
_“Hmm… Oh I know! If Izusu is too difficult for you to say then just call me Rin! It has the same kanji as my name and also means bell! So now I’m your very own Rin-oneechan_!” She had giggled whimsically.  
  
_“R-Rin… Rin-oneechan?”_ The name seemed to roll off his tongue as if it was practically meant for him! His own special nickname he had for her just like the one she had lovingly bestowed on him--- “Haru” instead of the cold utterings of his actual name “Hatsuharu.”  
  
And when she flashed him that beautiful, bright smile, somehow he didn’t feel so stupid after all.  
  
\--  
  
He had befriended the Cat of the Zodiac, Kyo. Kagu-nee introduced them when they had started going over to Shishou’s Dojo a lot to train; a safe refuge when compared to the laughing walls of his house. Apparently, the Cat was now living there.  
  
_“Because his mommy killed herself and his daddy doesn’t want him anymore…”_ Kagu-nee had whispered into his ear with a voice that sounded more like self-righteous pity than the loving adoration she claimed to feel for the boy.  
  
That was the first time he ever met someone who had a worse off home than him.  
  
Suddenly, he didn’t feel so bad about being the Ox anymore.  
  
\--  
  
While the Horse was the picturesque perfect ideal he sought to reach, the Cat was the one he was able to compare himself to in order to feel better about himself in the moment. He began spending all his time with him alongside his best friend Momiji, the Rabbit of the Zodiac who was the only one that was the exact same age as him. He was ashamed to admit that he liked being around someone who was worse off than he’d ever be, it wasn’t a very nice sentiment and he got the feeling that Kyo knew exactly why he was willing to hang out with him in the first place but he never said a word, just continued to act like a annoyed, disgruntled big brother whenever Haru was around.  
  
He was beginning to see less and less of Rin too and whenever he did see her out and about with her family he could tell something had changed…. She had become much more withdrawn, sullen, and there was a cold gleam to be found sparkling in eyes of her parents that reminded him a lot of the look his parents had always given him yet somehow worse.  
  
The atmosphere surrounding them was practically ice.  
  
\--  
  
_“I hate that damn rat! Everything is all his fault!!”_ Another thing he liked about the Cat was that he validated his hatred of the Rat, Yuki. Whenever he’d rant and rave about the failings of that spoiled, pampered little Prince, Haru couldn’t help but agree. That was another thing the two had in common besides their bad home lives. They had both been cheated by the Rat, even though, as always, the Cat had still been outdone by him worse. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie with the Cat because of this.  
  
_“He thinks he’s sooo much better than us just cause he’s the Prized Pet of “God!” Well someday I’ll show him! I’ll beat him at his own game and topple him down from his high and mighty throne, that’ll teach ‘im!”_  
  
He nodded along amidst the tirade, trying to shove at the back of his mind the memory of when he first came face to face with the Rat and he smiled that sad and tortured smile at him. Indicating that life wasn’t as cozy for him as everyone else thought, just like a certain little mare’s.

He tried not to think about it.  
  
\--  
  
The first time he had witnessed the extent of Rin’s abuse was during the annual New Year’s banquet when he was only seven. He had been playing with a toddler Kisa alongside Momiji when she then walked in. All bruises and bandages. Her perfect face marred by scars. Even the little doll she seemed to always carry with her was just a shell of its former self, ripped and torn like its owner. The entire room came to a standstill when she entered, all eyes on her. The silence was uncomfortably deafening. She didn’t say a word either, just avoided eye-contact and took her place beside Shigure-nii’s side, who seemed a little too indifferent and nonchalant for Haru’s liking.  
  
_“She said she just fell but Hari told me those injuries were actually from her parents…”_ Momiji whispered in his ear, tone all sad and understanding.  
  
His savior from heaven had been brought right back down to earth, the play had ended.  
  
She was just as broken as him.  
  
Somehow that idea tugged at his heartstrings even more.  
  
\--  
  
That Banquet was the last time he saw her for awhile.  
  
The next time they met she was already a middle-schooler that he found collapsed on the street and he, still a scrawny eleven-year-old, somehow managed to call Shishou for help.  
  
When she came to in the hospital he had been secretly pleased when he learned she had remembered him. Then her mother came, and all hell broke loose…  
  
He had never been able to speak very clearly or proficiently, but in that moment he had gathered up all of his courage and defended her valiantly, speaking stronger and faster than he ever knew was possible!  
  
_“Rin thinks she’s been ‘bad,’ but that’s only because you haven’t been treating her right! Its always the same with you adults, you always blame everything on us kids when you’re supposed to be taking care of us in the first place! If you’re really her mother, then act like it! APOLOGIZE! APOLOGIZE TO RIN RIGHT NOW!!”_  
  
What happened next was kind of a blur, but he could recall Shishou trying to hold him back while Rin’s mother was led away by the doctor. Then she started crying, thanking him. All teardrops and sadness and gross sobbing, but it had touched something within his heart like nothing before.  
  
_“T-Thank you Haru… Thank you..”_  
  
It was then that he silently vowed that he’d always be there for her. Whenever and wherever she needed rescuing, he’d be right there at her side, she would _never_ be alone!  
  
Taking her bigger hands in his, he sat beside her near her hospital bed with a determined expression on his face.  
  
_“You’ve gotta be happy, If anyone deserves to be happy its you! I might be little now and can’t do much, but I swear I’ll make you the happiest girl in the world! …S-So whenever you feel sad or scared just call my name and I’ll be there, I’ll protect you!”_  
  
When she flashed him that million-watt smile in response it seemed like all was right in the world again.  
  
She was his Cinderella and he was her Prince, he wanted to be the home she never had, that _he_ never had!  
  
They would never be broken again.  
\--  
  
After that they had begun spending more and more time together. Rin had moved into Kagu-nee’s house and every day after school he would knock on the window to her room and beckon her outside. They would chat about this and that, it was enough to just be near her. Though once he hit Middle School he had begun wanting more.  
  
He had also struck up a close friendship with Yuki during this time. It seemed that they weren’t so different after all. If Rin hadn’t been around he could even imagine loving him, but she _was_ around and even started accompanying him along his visits to him; keeping watch at the door in case Akito or one of the maids happened by. She was gruff and rude about it and even made it look like she wanted to them to leave whenever someone did eventually come around, but he knew that was just her own defensive way of showing that she cared.  
  
God he loved her.  
  
Eventually he reached the 9th grade and was now even taller than Rin. It was then that he finally decided to confess to her.  
  
_“W-We can’t… Akito…”_  
  
She had protested, he knew she would. Alarm bells were going off in the back of his head too. But he couldn’t help it, he simply wanted her! He wanted to make her his before any other man could get to her first. She had grown up to be so beautiful and voluptuous, she was already turning heads everywhere they walked together while he was still just some punk kid! He couldn’t take it anymore, he was afraid that if he didn’t act now he risked losing her forever!  
  
“ _I love you Rin. …Do you not want me?”_ He touched her cheek softly and reverently, as if she were made of porcelain and could break at even the slightest touch. One had to coax a horse to water after all, he wanted to make sure that she felt safe and loved, that no one was going to abandon her ever again. He simply desired to convey the fullest, possible extent of his feelings toward her!  
  
_“Do you not want me Rin…?”_ He looked at her as if she were the most precious thing on this planet and in his eyes she _was_.  
  
_“I-I do Haru… Gods how I do! B-But… But…!”_  
  
_“Then take me! No more hesitation, no more buts! I’m yours to do with as you please…”_  
  
Their lips met in a passionate, electrifying kiss and when they finally slept together it felt like coming home.  
\--  
  
She was in the hospital again, a place he knew she hated more than anywhere else. He felt sick to his stomach looking at her, all bruised and bandaged yet again.  
  
Only this time he knew it was his fault.  
  
When she gave the lame excuse yet again that she fell and then broke up with him right there on the spot, he didn’t even bother contesting it, just uttered a pathetic little why.  
  
_“Because… I’m tired of you. You’re annoying.”_ She had said.  
  
He had known the real reason but his guilty conscience wouldn’t allow himself to acknowledge it and so he ran.  
  
Away from the hospital and from her.  
  
Because he had failed her.  
  
He had vowed to fix her yet just ended up breaking her again, even worse than _they_ did!  
  
He really was the stupid ox.  
  
\--  
  
It would be quite some time until they managed to reconcile. Many things happened to get them to this point, but it was only during his confrontation with God themselves that he came to the realization that he really was still just a punk kid.  
  
And Rin--- She wasn’t as strong as she made herself out to be either. Despite the tough facade she put on she was still that crying little girl, forced to grow up much too fast and shoulder the burdens of a world too cruel.  
  
As he carried her now all barefoot and battered atop his actual shoulder, he made a promise that she no longer would have to carry everything by herself, he would be her metaphorical shoulder to lean on.  
  
_“I’ve left you alone for too long… But you don’t have to fight anymore Rin, its okay now.”_  
  
“H-Haru! Put me down, please! I-I can walk by myself… People are watching!” She stammered and Haru couldn’t help but notice that even with how she was now, with her glorious mane chopped off and all filthy and smelly after probably not having bathed in weeks she was still so beautiful in his eyes.  
  
She always would be, whether perfect or broken.  
  
_“I’m not letting you go ever again Rin, you’re in my arms now and that’s all I ever wanted!” I may be younger than you but I can still hold my own in carrying you, so just humor me and lean on me from now on alright…?”_  
  
With that he began to feel warm droplets on the crook of his neck, he simply smiled and softly smoothed his fingers through Rin’s now short hair, whispering, _“you did good.”_  
  
Chocking back another sob she was now laughing through her tears as she whispered back a quiet _“Tadaima...”_  
  
_“Okaeri.”_ He replied back.  
  
They were _both_ home.  
  
\--  
  
It would be years later, after they had both grown up some, all curse-free and tasting the nectars of freedom that they would be able reminisce fondly on their journey throughout the years and realize that neither of them ever really needed fixing.  
  
Rin’s hair had grown back, she was currently majoring in Art at the same junior college Kagura attended. With the help of both him and Tohru, she was finally starting to smile more and more, it reminded him of the old days when they were both still children wrapped in that blanket of innocence, only this time it wasn’t a play. They had truly obtained real happiness.  
  
It was recently discovered that Rin had gotten pregnant with twins, so she would soon be taking a leave absence from school soon, not too soon though, she valued her independence; still as stubborn as a horse! That was one thing that would never change, curse or no curse.  
  
He wouldn’t have it any other way.  
  
They were living together but they had not gotten married, he didn’t think they ever would. Neither him or Rin were the “type.” Besides what would a piece of paper prove? They both knew they were already committed to each other for eternity! All those legal documents that only served to bind people together, what good would they do if those bonds were forced and societally enforced rather than chosen? They were completely done with predetermined bonds, they would make their own bond! And it would be stronger and better than any legal or predestined ones, they would make sure of that!  
  
As Haru lay beside his girlfriend in their bed with both their hands ontop of her slightly bulging belly while she hummed softly and he gazed down at her softly, he knew that they had found a bond stronger than any curse.  
  
Apart they were both broken, but they had come together to finally create something whole.  
  
\--  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I decided to fit in some of my own personal little headcanons for this fic, such as how Isuzu got her nickname in the first place and the fact that I believe Rin and Haru would be the only couple out of the canon ones that wouldn't marry in the end, yep, they're forever living in sin in my mind lol, an untraditional lifestyle for an untraditional couple! I also feel they would both reject the social institution of marriage seeing as how the homes they grew up in were so bad, it would make them incredibly jaded on the traditional concept and notion of "family." Haru and Rin are punk hippies forever!
> 
> I also headcanon that Haru had a learning disability while growing up and was developmentally delayed and that was the main reason for everyone always laughing at him and claiming he was stupid. (Since the curse is meant to reflect ones own insecurities and be a metaphor for them) As someone who also struggles with a stuttering problem I know exactly how he feels and I can relate to him on that level.
> 
> "Tadaima" - I'm home
> 
> "Okaeri" - Welcome home.


End file.
